North Texas Fire Department Becomes First to Carry Sepsis Fighting Drug

By THC Staff | June 16, 2017

 

In North Richland Hills, Texas in Tarrant County, local fire department ambulances have a new tool to help Texans in need. CBS DFW reports that they’re the first in the country to have antibiotics to fight sepsis on hand.

Sepsis, the CDC writes, is defined as a “complication caused by the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection, which can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.” Symptoms are similar to those someone has during an infection along with elevated fever, increased heart rate, extreme pain, confusion, and clammy skin. The Mayo Clinic says that it can be thought of as having three stages: sepsis, severe sepsis, and septic shock.

When a person is dealing with the latter “stages” of sepsis, every hour they don’t receive life-saving antibiotics makes the likelihood the they’ll die from sepsis 7.6 percent higher. Dorie Murray, a Medical City North Hills nurse, told the CBS DFW, “So, if you think about the 30 minute ride, the time that they get at the hospital and they have to be in registration about the timer physician season it may be two, 2 1/2 hours behind the eight ball.”

North Richland Hills Paramedics are proud to trailblazer this new precaution and have received special training on how and when to use their life-saving tool.